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Ho ho ho – CWU announces festive strike plans

Hundreds of TV Licensing workers will be on strike in the run-up to Christmas next week in a long-running dispute over pay.

Capita – the company which has just won an eight year extension to the TV Licensing contract and makes £1 million profit every day – has refused to return to negotiations despite a week’s worth of strike action and clear dissatisfaction among its staff. A pay offer of around 2.6 per cent was robustly rejected by workers, many of whom earn little more than the minimum wage. The CWU has now announced dates for two weeks of further strike action running into the New Year.

CWU national officer Andy Furey said: “Capita is the classic Scrooge – raking in profits, paying out massive salaries and bonuses to senior executives and then treading its low-paid staff into the floor.

“This company makes £1 million profit every day and has just been awarded an eight-year extension to its BBC TV Licensing contract; it can afford a decent pay rise for staff.

“Our members are facing higher food and fuel bills, not to mention Christmas costs, so a pay offer at half the rate of inflation is simply a pay cut.

“We’re appealing to Capita scrooges to find some Christmas spirit a return to pay talks to give their staff some Christmas cheer. Strike action will continue in the New Year unless Capita bosses change their stubborn stance.”